To the Church Goers

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Okay. Can you give me three biblical teachings stemming from this executive order?

Leviticus 19:33-34

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Malachi 3:5

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Exodus 23:9

“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Matthew 5:46-47

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Leviticus 24:22

You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God.”

Leviticus 23:22

“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Malachi 3:5

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Exodus 23:9

“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Matthew 5:46-47

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Leviticus 24:22

You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God.”

Leviticus 23:22

“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

So I went to the Rockets @ Pacers game this Sunday. It is a hobby of mine to attend Mass in different cities and countries whenever possible. I attended 4 pm Mass at St Gabriel's just 12 minute northwest of Indianapolis. As it turns out, I was the ONLY non Spanish speaking person in the congregation. During the homily (the only part of the Mass I couldn't understand), there were a few words that I did understand:

"El Presidente Trump" and "Syria, Iran, Iraq."

I would have loved to have understood what the priest said to the Spanish speaking people, many of whom I imagine emigrated themselves or have parents who were immigrants.

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Malachi 3:5

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Exodus 23:9

“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Matthew 5:46-47

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Leviticus 24:22

You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God.”

Leviticus 23:22

“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

I'm really surprised you asked for Biblical Texts on Immigration. It is one of the major themes in all of Scripture.

Arguably except for Lev 24:22, these passages refer to how an individual is supposed to treat a stranger, NOT how a nation/state is to lawfully rule their borders and protect it's populace. As a matter of fact, if you want to bring up the Old Testament, God was pretty hard core in the way he commanded the Israelites to treat their enemies, and he NEVER told them to throw open their borders/homes to the non-God believing idol worshipers, who at the time were pretty much everyone else but them.

Speaking of bible references….. I’ve found over the years that Mass readings seem to naturally fall into place to help me with struggles in my personal life or the world around me. This is why I love going to Church, love the readings, reflections and Eucharist.

Anyway, this past Sunday were spot on. The Beatitudes – enough said…. But what was really AWESOME was the second reading by First Corinthians 1:26-31:

“God chose those who by human standards are fools to shame the wise; he chose those who by human standards are weak to shame the strong,

those who by human standards are common and contemptible -- indeed those who count for nothing -- to reduce to nothing all those that do count for something,